Jefferson Parish has reached a deal with Cox Communications to cut the debt of the cable television provider to the local government. In exchange, Cox will continue carrying the parish's government access channel for another year.

The Parish Council ratified the settlement Dec. 8, agreeing to write off half the $200,000 that Cox owed in franchise fees for using public rights-of-way, deputy parish attorney Louis Gruntz said. Cox agreed to continue its free transmission of Parish Council meetings through 2011, or until the parish builds a television or video studio of its own.

The way that shows will make their way to residents' televisions is changing with a rise in video service that uses digital data lines instead of conventional cable. The evolution came into sharp relief in Jefferson when AT&T began updating its lines two years ago to compete with Cox.

Cox customers won't see a change in service for some time, said Pat LeBlanc, the attorney who brokered the settlement on the parish's behalf.

"There's change coming, but it will be in stages," she said. "So I think everyone will have time to adapt."

The rift in the parish's 2003 agreement with Cox opened when AT&T began upgrading its infrastructure for what it calls U-verse video service. Cox's contract with the parish has a "most favored of nations" clause, which basically lets Cox adopt the terms in a rival's contract if those terms prove more favorable than its current contract with the parish. In this case, the parish's contract with AT&T didn't require a free government access channel, among other amenities.

Cox's agreement, which runs through 2018, requires that the company pay roughly 5 percent of its revenue in franchise fees to the parish. A recent audit by accountants from Rebowe & Co. uncovered Cox's debt to the parish, LeBlanc said.

Meanwhile, Parish President John Young's administration is moving forward with building an internal studio to provide the public and the government with a television channel. LeBlanc said that work is scheduled to be finished by January 2012. If the project is finished earlier, Cox could end up paying more in franchise fees should its free channel be rendered unnecessary, Gruntz said.